Today was the day.

Igneous was going to learn magic.

He was still a little nervous but he was determined. Not only was he captivated by magic in the first place, enough for Saikur to find a tome for him, but he felt like when it came to defending himself, magic was the most natural option. He couldn't see himself using a traditional weapon and he didn't really have the body type or endurance for it anyway. Iniabi was impressed with his ability to understand the language, so he was probably more than cut out for it.

Iniabi recruited Caalya to help so the three of them packed up everything they needed for the afternoon, including lunch, and trekked along the path and away from the looming walls to seek out a suitable training place. It took them about half an hour to find the perfect place, one that had a lot of dirt and little grass that could catch flame. There were trees but they were sparse and still quite a few feet away, so he doubted that they would be a problem.

Iniabi set his bag down on the ground, kneeling as he dug through all of the tomes he packed before pulling out a basic fire tome. Caalya also dug through her bag, pulling out her journal and basic wind tome, but unlike Iniabi, she stayed on the border of the dirt and grass, watching them carefully. He stood up and walked towards Igneous, presenting him with the tome, which Igneous graciously took.

He didn't feel anything at first when he touched the tome, which was more or less what he expected. Reading the written words in the tome out loud while crouched over it in the middle of Iniabi's tent didn't make him feel any different either. Well, he was confused by the near automatic translation that happened in his head when he tried to read the tome, but he didn't really count that.

"You already have a strong grasp on the language, assuming that you're speaking the right one, of course," Iniabi mumbled as he started to step backwards. "Start by opening the tome and reading it out loud. I want you to point your dominate hand at me. It might feel a bit goofy, but it helps beginners with their aim."

"At you?"

"I can handle it, don't worry! Okay, and when you're pointing your hand at me, you have to try and visualize hitting me or your spell isn't going to go anywhere. The spirits will know to attack because of the words in the tome but you still have to direct them with your will. You ahve to differentiate between friend and foe."

He looked to Caalya. She pointed at Iniabi and nodded.

Well, if he insisted. He was just a beginner and the tome was just a basic fire tome, how much damage could he possible do? He cracked the tome open, balancing it on his forearm and keeping the book open with his fingers, much like he saw other mages do before. He prepared his other hand, holding it out in front of him with his open palm facing Iniabi. His mentor stood still, hands waiting at his hips, his eyes watching Igneous carefully.

Igneous read the words out loud. He knew he couldn't pause mid-sentence or trip over his own words if he wanted the spell to actually work, so he was careful. At first, he felt a little ridiculous. Even though he knew it was for magic, it felt awkward to stand there and talk to himself just in case something happened.

He must have been doing something right because he could feel something warm rush through his body. It was unexpected but he didn't let it throw him off. He finished the spell. He saw red flames and for a second, he thought he succeeded.

Only to feel pain just a moment after.

He yelped and dropped the tome, letting it hit the ground with a thud. It managed to land on its spine, thankfully. His fingers were stinging and red, though he didn't see any sort of blister, so the burns were only minor. Whatever happened though, it was enough for Caalya and Iniabi to run towards him though.

"Igneous! Are you alright?"

"It hurts a bit but it doesn't look serious," he answered, holding his hand out for the two of them look, but he took it back whenever it looked like either of them were going to touch.

"It's called magical recoil. They usually don't cause any harm but your innate magic is stronger than that of most beginners," Iniabi mumbled, those his eyes were bright with curiosity. "I knew you would be great with magic! You're a natural, Igneous! We just have to harness it properly."

Thank goodness it isn't more serious, Caalya wrote. Let's try a different element. Try the wind one. With that, she offered the wind tome she had earlier. It was an awkward hand off, since Caalya still had to hold her journal, and she couldn't look any happier that Igneous took it off her hands.

"What, why?"

"Some elements are easier to control than others and if recoils are going to be expected, it should not be fire because you clearly have an affinity for it, and the spirits are going to be more excited about that. Everybody has an element they're drawn to."

Igneous had to admit, he wasn't super excited about the wind tome. Whenever he imagined himself using magic, he didn't see himself with anything other than fire. There wasn't anything wrong with it per say, it just wasn't him.

But Iniabi already had his fire tome and Igneous probably wasn't going to get it back until he proved himself with the wind tome.

Caalya offered a pitying smile and a shrug.

"Ready to try again?"

Igneous did his best to quash all of his disappointment and nodded. Iniabi and Caalya stepped back into their previous positions as Igneous resumed his stance. He held out his hand like before as he balanced the wind tome in his other hand. He locked his eyes on Iniabi. It was odd to imagine hitting his mentor, knowing that all Iniabi had was his natural resistance and his quick feet to keep him from getting hurt, but Iniabi did say it was alright.

And maybe if he could focus enough, he would imagine that it was somebody else standing there.

Igneous read the words aloud once again. Instead of the warmth he felt earlier, he felt a chill from deep within. The wind kicked up and danced around him, blowing his unbound hair into his face and then like a snap, the wind twirled around him last time before suddenly surrounding Iniabi. Iniabi raised his arms in front of his face as his cloak whipped around him.

It didn't last long and all it did was ruffle up Iniabi, but it was magic.

Caalya clapped loudly and the smile on her face was radiant. Her journal, which was careful to keep off the ground previously, was laying open at her feet. When Iniabi lowered his arm, he was laughing, almost giddy even.

"Igneous! That was great! You're honestly quite the natural!"

"But it didn't even do anything..." That wasn't to say Igneous was disappointed by what he managed, but their reactions seemed... over the top. In battle, that attack would be nothing but a distraction, which would be handy in a pinch but it was hardly useful beyond that. It might not even be a good distraction for all he knew.

Aiming is the first hurdle of magic, Caalya presented, once she picked up her journal and made her way over. Communicating your will to the spirits is one of the hardest parts. Celebrate the small steps.

"The more you keep it up, the easier it becomes. You won't even have to think about it!" Iniabi explained. "You do need to keep using magic in order for it to become stronger, though, so try it again! We got all day!"

Igneous sighed. It was going to be a long day.

By the time lunch rolled around, Igneous felt like his mind was in a fog and he was all too aware of where all of his blood vessels were, especially in his arms. He forgot to ask if it was even normal to feel as though his veins were electrified. While it wasn't painful, it was certainly a weird feeling and he hoped that it some point, it would stop. Or at least, he hoped he would become numb to it.

At least his magic was improving though. Once he got it right the first time and knew what it was supposed to feel like, it wasn't difficult for him to replicate it over and over. He wasn't ready for the battlefield yet, Iniabi only had a couple of small cuts on his face and some tears in his clothes after being the target of Igneous' magic all day, but he did at least feel like he was making progress. Caalya supervised, sometimes stepping up to him to him adjust his pose, but for the most part, she stayed off to the side, watching him and watching their perimeter.

They still had his fire tome though. They didn't let him try it again, even though he got the hang of controlling the wind magic.

Iniabi was speaking to Caalya, so Igneous was left on his own to eat nuts and fruit, lounging on a blanket Caalya set down while he did so. Iniabi was speaking in whispers, so he didn't know what their conversation was about, but he assumed it had something about their next step. If Igneous had a choice, he would go back to camp and take a break, maybe even read the rest of the journal Vulcan had for him.

But Iniabi and Caalya were calling the shots for the day. They were taking the time out of their day to help him, so it would be rude for him to just walk away if they had more plans for him. A voice in his head, a voice that sounded like Leigh, told him to respect their time.

Eventually, Iniabi walked over and joined him on the blanket. "You look exhausted. Ready to head back to camp?"

"...already?"

"We're both impressed by your progress and like I said, you look pretty tired. We can continue tomorrow."

"A nap sounds good. I wouldn't mind going back to camp," he answered, rolling over on the blanket to get back up to his feet. Just as he did so though, he saw black specks in the sky. They were far away and he could barely seem them, but it alarmed him nonetheless. His mind raced through other possibilities first – nobles, mercenaries – but he was pretty sure they must have been Zahan soldiers.

In which case, he wasn't sure what Zahan would do. He doubted that Zahan would care all that much if Fraedians fought each other, especially if the Fraedians didn't ever turn on them. Igneous just couldn't be sure though. He couldn't trust that they would just let Brontes do whatever he wanted.

"Is that...?"

Iniabi turned his head, following Igneous' line of sight. He squinted when he spotted what Igneous saw. "Zahan? Maybe. Looks like they're headed to the city. I wonder if this means camp will be moved."

Igneous pinched the bridge of his nose. It was times like that where he wished that his powers weren't so random. It would very helpful to see even a small glimpse of what Zahan was trying to accomplish. He knew what they wanted with him, but why were they after Darren? What was the purpose of occupying the castle? Why did they invade Fraedia too? Is it because that was what The Barren wanted?

"Igneous?"

"Hm?"

Iniabi looked away for a second, his eyes flickering back towards the sky before going back to Igneous. "Let's get back camp, alright?"

The atmosphere around the campsite was intense. It was odd, because nobody was acting like anything was out of place. Ajax and Leigh were speaking, that's what they always did as they seemed to be the most interested in making sure Igneous' and Darren's interests were being met. Darren and Fara were sitting together outside of their tent, which again, nothing new. They were always together. Orla and Tora were sparring, with Mira cheering them on and Will shouting instructions for Orla. Elena was speaking to Max, maybe she noticed there was something special about his heritage, but Elena would notice something like that and she would try to get some answers. Saikur was keeping the fire alive and Gerben was keeping him company.

He couldn't immediately find everyone else, but they could be in their tents, between the tents where Igneous couldn't see them, or just milling about outside of camp.

And yet, there was still an intense energy about it, like all of the normal activity was a farce or some sort of facade. It felt even worse under Valburn's usual dreary and heavy atmosphere. It was suffocating, almost. It couldn't just be him that felt it, right?

Saikur was the first to notice them, like he was waiting for him to come back, and came running over. The first thing Igneous noticed that he was sporting a particularly bruised eye. Actually, Saikur was practically purple and blue all over and his face was rounder than usual thanks to the swelling. He didn't quite look like himself, but at least his dark blue hair was still tied back as usual. At least something was normal. Igneous heard a quite 'wow' from Iniabi behind him.

"Igneous! You're back!"

"...what happened to you?"

Saikur just waved him off like it was normal for him to be covered in bruises. "Oh, just Zahreen. I'll take a vulnerary later, don't worry. Anyway, how'd it go?"

Igneous noted that in his mind. He was going to talk to him later because why wouldn't Saikur seek help for his injuries right away? Why would he just keep the bruises and why was he going to Zahreen anyway? Igneous didn't really know the guy and he didn't really care to get to know him either since he didn't like what he saw. The guy was too arrogant for Igneous' tastes. Sure, Igneous was well aware that he himself was vain, but he didn't walk around like everybody ought to get on the ground and worship him.

"Igneous is doing great! A little tired, but great! His aim is there, he just needs some practice to make his attacks stronger!" Iniabi chirped. "I... take it everybody saw all the wvyerns?"

Saikur nodded, taking a moment to look back towards camp. "We aren't going to do anything for now. Amaryllis and Charles went in to investigate, so we're waiting for them to come back soon. I'm hoping Brontes moves soon either way though. It bothers me to just... sit here."

"I don't think Zahan isn't interested in us for now. I don't think they even saw us," Iniabi mumbled. "We came back when we saw them but I don't think they're a threat right now."

Saikur nodded and glanced at Igneous. He just shook his head. His powers weren't particularly useful at the moment and he well, he did not want a second look in Saikur's future. The first look was far too personal.

"Well, I have to go make some repairs," he gestured to the tears in his coat, "but I'll see you tomorrow, Igneous! Or maybe later tonight, if you're up for it," Iniabi said with a nod as he dismissed himself. Caalya stood there for a second but left when Igneous nodded at her.

"So... what's going on here?" Igneous mumbled, circling his own face with his finger.

"It's training."

"Are you sure about that? I've watched people spar with each other before and they don't end up with black eyes." Sparring wasn't a pass time that Igneous didn't engage with himself, but it was something he did catch others doing because it was a good way to exhaust yourself at the end of the day and it helped them brush up on their skills. Some of them were really intense, Orla and Gerben looked particular scary when they were sparring but they didn't hurt each other. As scary as it looked, it was all play to them.

"Zahreen's an ass, but I think that's what I need. I clearly wasn't getting anywhere on my own and I just... I just want to make you stay safe."

"You don't have to go through all of this for me! I already told you, I don't care that you're not the best fighter. That's not why I picked you to be one of my guardians! Not to mention, a battle could happen any day now with Zahan on our tail. They're in Valburn! You can't just be injured all the time!"

Saikur frowned, cocking his head slightly. "I take it you haven't seen much lately."

"No!" Igneous didn't mean to but he practically yelled. Saikur winced. "I'm sorry, it's just... well, it would be nice to have a clue as to what Zahan wants and until we have that, we can't fight back properly. We're just reacting. I hate it."

Saikur's shoulders relaxed. "That's true. Even if we did know though, I don't think we're necessarily equipped to take them on. We struggled with a fraction of their forces. Arder forced them into a truce to stop the battle... which I can admit I took rather badly."

Igneous was about to comment when Gerben shouted for him. He looked past Saikur's shoulder to the sight of Charles, Amaryllis, and Tahno altogether with Leigh and Ajax. Igneous frowned at the sight of Tahno – he had yet to forgive the man – but he needed to know what they found, even if he had no idea that Tahno joined them and he didn't want to talk to him.

Saikur nodded at him and they went together.

"Is it bad news?" Igneous asked.

"We have to move if we want to avoid getting caught in the shit storm that's brewing," Tahno said with a shrug as he leaned against his weapon. "And I'm not getting paid enough to battle two armies."

"Wait, what?" Ajax asked, wiping his head towards Tahno.

Amaryllis glared at Tahno. "What Tahno failed to mention is that there is a noble's army headed to Valburn. They probably want to take over the castle and instill themselves as the new royal family."

Saikur blinked. "Wow, that got out quickly."

"Heh, practically all the nobles in Fraedia have eyes and ears everywhere. You gotta to keep on top of all the gossip after all!" Charles said with a smile. "So yeah, unless you want to paddle up shit creek with your bare hands, we should stay out of it."

"Agreed," Ajax said a nod. "Actually, this is good opportunity. Amaryllis and Charles – are you willing to stay here and watch? Maybe we should send Alissa too... but anyway, if the other army wants to take over the castle, they're going to have to get through Zahan. We just have to watch as they battle each other, then regardless of whoever wins, it will work to our advantage somehow. Either Zahan will stop chasing us or there is one less noble for Brontes and us to deal with."

"Does Brontes know we have to move?" Igneous asked.

Amaryllis waved him off. "He's got Kalen and he's no slouch. If I run into him while watching all this go down, I'll let him know."

"Good. I think we're done here then. We should get everybody moving tomorrow morning when we have plenty of light."

Igneous nodded but the dread settled heavily in his stomach.

The dread made him restless. Dinner passed and the entire time he was eating, Igneous couldn't figure out how to quell it. He still had more of the journal to read, a journal that might help him understand his powers and not just his purpose, but he could also train and get himself ready for anything. Iniabi and Caalya seemed pleased with his progress, and he supposed that he was happy that he was taking to it well enough, but he wasn't battle ready. He wasn't ready to defend himself.

He still wanted to use the fire tome too and Caalya and Iniabi seemed reluctant to let him use it. Maybe they would change their mind though. He did improve with the wind tome and the burns with the fire tome were so minor that Igneous barely felt them anymore.

Igneous handed in his bowl and eventually found Iniabi in front of Arder's tent, talking to Arder and Mira. Mira was holding her sword, and Arder was inspecting it, bent down so he was eye level with the edge. Iniabi mumbled something, but when noticed Igneous, he dismissed himself to go meet him.

"More practice, I take it?" he asked with a smile. "Apparently, we're moving camp tomorrow so we might not have a lot of time tomorrow."

Igneous nodded. "I want to use the fire tome, though."

Iniabi bit his lips, his eyes shifting as he consider it. "I... you did improve a lot with the wind tome. Maybe it'll be fine now. Come on!"

It took some time for Iniabi to grab the fire tome again and find a place for both of them to practice. They were near the camp, but they weren't close enough for Igneous to accidentally set anything on fire if something strange happened. Iniabi, perhaps purposely, set himself so that Igneous' back had to face the camp for him to actually aim.

"Just like last time. I'll be your target. Remember how it felt with the wind tome, all anima magic feels familiar when you're using it. When you're experienced, you can switch between any of them."

The fire tome felt warm in his hands. He felt welcomed by it, like he was reuniting with an old friend. He cracked it open and assumed the position that Caalya trained into him with all of her adjustments earlier in the day. He focused on his target, reciting the words and held up his hand. The warmth that spread his hands felt safe this time.

He almost laughed in relief when he didn't feel the pain like he did the first time and Iniabi was surrounded by orange flames. He braced, holding his arms in front of his face until the flames died down and vanished.

"Very good, Igneous! Again!"

He repeated the process two more and found himself successful both times. He couldn't tell if he was hurting Iniabi but he was acting normally, so he guessed it was just like with the wind tome. Igneous' inexperienced magic wasn't great enough to overcome the resistance Inaibi built up against it, even with an element he was better suited with.

He held his hand to go for a fourth attack when he saw something flash in front his eyes as he recited the words.

He saw Valburn.

Igneous felt the energy in the air change as reality flickered back in for a split second. Iniabi must have sensed something go wrong because suddenly he was running towards him.

He heard the roar of an animal. The purple dragon he once saw depicted on the ground of Valburn cracked and crumbled like a weathered statue, leaving nothing but an endless, dark hole.

Igneous cried out as orange flames filled his vision, running up his arms as he completely lost control of a spell that shouldn't be strong enough to hurt him like it was. It wasn't the fire licking and burning his arms that hurt, though he was sure he would feel it later. No, it was the fire from the inside.

Valburn shot up in flames, flames that surrounded him and held him down but did not burn. There wasn't even smoke, just flames that barrelled through every alley, ran up the buildings, engulfing some people but leaving others completely alone. There was agony and apathy, rage and helplessness, complacency and acceptance.

It wasn't the magic. The fire that rumbled and ran through all of his veins wasn't from magic. The flames that exploded from inside and made him feel dizzy and too warm wasn't from magic. He only realized what it was when tome was thrown from his hands and he collapsed into Iniabi's arms, his hands finding purchase on his coat as Iniabi lowered both of them to the ground. He normally didn't like to just grab people like that but with the world spinning as it was, he needed something to anchor him.

A fever was attacking him, one of those fevers that might have taken the other oracles and would threaten to take him too.

Iniabi was saying something but none of the words made it to him. Igneous blinked, trying to make his vision more clear, and managed to meet Iniabi's wide eyes.

"Your power threatens to consume you. Such a wonderful gift, no?" The Barren's voice rang out in his head. He could see still see Iniabi's mouth moving but he couldn't hear any of the words that came out of it, and he could see confusion set in when Iniabi seemed to realize that Igneous wasn't listening. He could only hear The Barren's words. "It can't stay separate, boy. It can't continue to exist in two pieces. It has to be whole."

"Get... out..." he mumbled, though he wasn't sure if it was out loud or if it was in his head. He doubted The Barren could hear him, he wasn't even sure if The Barren was trying to contact him again in the first place. Sure, he got the fever but The Barren seemed to like to drag Igneous to the weird field and that didn't happen. Maybe he was just imagining the words in his booming voice or it was a message from something or somebody else that used The Barren's voice.

The figure that Vulcan saw... did it actually exist?

Suddenly, everything stilled. His head was pounding and he felt completely awful, but the world wasn't spinning anymore at least. The fog in his mind cleared enough that he could actually hear Iniabi calling out for help, apparently unwilling to leave Igneous alone in his current state. It was appreciated, actually. He could also finally feel his burned arms. He didn't dare look at them but he could feel the heat radiate from them. They were definitely worse than the minors burns he suffered earlier in the day.

Hopefully they wouldn't leave a mark when they healed.

"I'm confused..." he mumbled into his shoulder.

Iniabi stiffened. "About?"

"I feel awful but I'm still conscious." The last couple of times the fever hit, he woke up in an unfamiliar place and had to be told what happened to him. He couldn't remember feeling a fever come on and being aware of what was happening in the moments after. He was absent while the midst of those fevers, he was well aware of that. He couldn't tell if he should be concerned that something wasn't happening as expected or excited that maybe the fevers weren't affecting him so harshly anymore.

He heard footsteps. "Iggy? Iggy, what happened?"

"Had a vision," he managed, despite the nausea. He was suddenly regretting the fact that he was still present while he felt so awful. It was actually kind of nice to skip the whole thing and wake up feeling almost normal.

"He lost control of the magic he was practicing with and burned his arms too. I guess the vision is why he lost control," Iniabi mumbled, sliding a hand to Igneous cheek. "He feels pretty hot to the touch too."

"Alright Iggy, I'm going to take you Elena, alright?" he asked. Igneous nodded and let Gerben scoop him up. Gerben was careful of his arms, touching them only when necessary and ultimately leaving Igneous to find a comfortable position to put them in as he carried him back to camp. The other nice thing about Gerben carrying him was that people didn't really ask or crowd him at first. His large frame dwarfed Igneous and it helped him feel hidden, at least a little bit.

He was tired and Gerben's arms were very comfortable. He supposed he should really stay awake long enough to let Elena check him but was unwell and just... too tired to wait. He closed his eyes and let himself drift off.

The chapters will probably be shorter from here on out. Aside from the supports, all the chapters were pretty well over 5k words. I won't be consciously trying to shoot for this more anymore and hopefully, that will help with updates!